June Releases

Sunday, 19 February 2012

5 Movies with Twisted Doctors similar To The Skin I Live In

I recently watched The Skin I Live in with Antonio Banderas and I was really impressed with the story. It has a little bit here for everybody, mystery, romance, intrigue and a certain madness that everybody can enjoy. The beginning seems a bit wonky, but once the real story begins, it completely engrosses you.

Dr. Ledgard (Banderas) is a brilliant plastic surgeon who is in the process of creating a synthetic skin that can with stand any damage. However, the woman that he is secretly testing the skin on is volatile and has to be kept locked away in his clinic. We learn throughout the movie, how Dr. Ledgard's tragic past has brought her into his life and may be the key to his scientific breakthrough.

Here are 5 films where doctors take things a little to far.

5. Re-Animator (1985) - Medical student, Herbert West arrives at Miskatonic University, rents a room from Dan Cain and converts the basement into his lab to secretly continue his work on re-animating the dead. Faculty member, Dr. Carl Hill and West have a falling out, with West accusing Hill of stealing his mentor's theory on Brain Death. Dan discovers one of West's experiments, a re-animated cat and West enlists him to help defeat death. This is a campy version of H.P. Lovecraft story, but it is really funny and there is a ton of gore.

4. Frankenhooker (1990) -After a terrible lawnmower accident, Jeffery Franken is left with only the head of his fiance Elizabeth. Luckily, Jeffery is a medical dropout who likes to play with dead things and concocts an idea of how to bring Elizabeth back. He will rebuild her using the body parts of dead hookers, unfortunately once she is revived she isn't the same Elizabeth. There are some good laughs and ending is totally disgusting with some interesting special effects.

3. Boxing Helena (1993) - Unable to come to terms with the ending of his romance with his girlfriend Helena, Dr. Cavanaugh devises a plan to keep her in his life forever. He amputates her limbs and keeps her hidden in his mansion. This movie has some good scenes and even though Helena has gone through some horrible mutilation, she still finds time to criticize Cavabaugh's short comings.

2. The Human Centipede (2009) - Dr. Heiter kidnaps and stitches three people together to create the first Human Centipede by connecting them through their gastric systems. The concept itself is pure madness but that's what makes it so enjoyable and secretly, we all want it to work. Definitely, a gross movie but a must see for any horror enthusiast.

1. Eyes Without a Face (1960) - Dr. Genessier and his assistant Louise kidnap woman and removes their faces. He then tries to graft the victims face on to his daughter Christiane, whose face was destroyed in a car crash and needs to wear a mask to hide her hideous face. None of the faces take, the victims are dying and the police are hot on their trail. This is the film most similar to The Skin I Live In, the pacing is slower but there are some gruesome scenes and the make up is done quite nicely. I like it too because it's black and white and the use of shadows are more prevalent, which it gives the film a good look and makes it that that much more scary.

In these films, these doctors are just trying to do the right thing. Be it for love, revenge or the chance to create a new of species of pets(?). Perhaps they were a little over the top but everybody gets wrapped up in what there doing.